LATEST ADDITIONS

In my <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//thefifthelement/493/">January "The Fifth Element" column</A>, I discussed the concept of value in the context of audio component manufacture. This month's "Letters" includes a response to that column from Austrian distributor Hans Hirner. In his letter, Herr Hirner writes about some of his Web-surfing non-customers: "If that weren't enough, they also call me or my dealers to tell them how proud they are, after having taken all from me that is possible in system matching and trial&mdash;and even denoising their systems&mdash;to have been able to find 'our' products cheaper out there."

What could be easier to review than a power amplifier? No features or functions aside from inputs, outputs, and a power switch. So when Jonathan Scull asked if I could help out by taking on the Rotel RB 1080, which another reviewer hadn't been able to get to, I accepted the assignment. Before I could click my heels and say "FedEx!" twice, Rotel's 200Wpc RB 1080 had appeared.

It's been a while since we talked about our amplifiers (23 months in fact). So we'd like to know what you are using now and why you like it.

"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/540/">Wadia Digital 861 CD player</A> is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?

Both SACD and DVD-Audio have been slow finding their way into higher-end players. Sony dominates the market for SACD, and the other major consumer electronics manufacturers are trickling out DVD-A and universal players. The few exceptions include SACD machines from <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/474/">Class&#233;</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/340/">Accuphase</A&gt;. Soon to be added to the list: Linn.

If Senator "Fritz" Hollings has his way, coming generations of electronic products will monitor their users' behavior and report possible copyright violations to some governmental regulatory agency. That's one of the more ominous provisions in Hollings' Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA), introduced for consideration by the US Senate the third week of March. The bill goes far beyond the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998.

My life is characterized by periods of relative calm interrupted by huge transitions. This last year has been a doozie, with changes in just about every aspect of my life: new cars, motorcycles, and guitars, new jobs and relationships, and, finally, the contemplation of a cross-country move. With a little bit of luck, all of this upheaval will end in a long period of relative calm.